Planting in Tubes

plantoid wrote:Same tube , soak the night before to make sure it slides out easliy , push up from bottom when plant is big enough with a bit of broom stick cut to size , slice off any roots growing into the foam and plant the whole plug in a well watered hole cover to just above the top of the plug and re water it .

Usually it stays together unless too wet then it will slide out in a dollop .

44 mm ( 1 3/4 " ) waste pipe is OK 3 inch ( 75 mm ) rain down pipe round or square profile is OK but uses more compost and vermiculite . I use both sizes , prefer the square tube as it sits well in the seed trays and on the benches without falling over so easily as round tube.

plantoid wrote:My idea is indeed to dilute the MM as full strength MM is too rich for most seedlings .

Just flood the tray once to 1 " deep for the first soaking to let the tube contents draw up enough water to wet the whole tube contents.

greengrass wrote:

plantoid wrote:My idea is indeed to dilute the MM as full strength MM is too rich for most seedlings .

Just flood the tray once to 1 " deep for the first soaking to let the tube contents draw up enough water to wet the whole tube contents.

sorry i meant, would the peat not dilute the sfg bed.
if they are grown in peat then transfered to the sfg bed,
would that not be adding too much peat to the 1/3peat-1/3verm-1/3compost mix.
over a long period of time would it not add too much peat?
maybe i'm over analysing it.
thanks plantoid
gg

Coelli wrote:I imagine toilet paper tubes would work for this as well? I have seen them closed on the bottom, but I wonder if you could just use them like this!

greengrass wrote:couple of things plantoid , so i've got it right in me head.

1. "I now have about four hundred tubes rounds at square 1 &/4 " 9 44 mm ) or 3" round or square tubes all are cut to 3 & 1/4 height (8 mm )."

It's a mixture of tubes that I had to hand
is that 1 3/4" (44mm) round/square @ 80mm high
& 3" round/square @ 80mm high?


2. why 2 different sizes? see No 1, beggars can't be choosers normally

3. so it's foam - then growth medium - then vermiculite on top.
Yes ...diluted growth medium , fine vermicluite like coarse brown sugar grains

4. what are "swimming pool noodles"
are they the floating dividers used to make swimming lanes in a pool?
No the noodles are a rod of light closed cell foam used as floatation devices . Sold in Toys R Us etc to aid beginners in the swimming pools .
they usually come in red , green blue and yellow colours .... app five feet long and 80 mm in dia ..
Different brands = diferent sizes = also Aldi and Lidel occasionally have threm


5. "At the time of using them we were only two."

We two are now three with a 11.5 yr old Munchkin of our own .... toilet roll consumption has trippled

you started so young, i make that 60 years gardening if your 62
gg

Yes I am 62 , I became a dad for the last time ( knowingly ) when I was 51
No I didn't have my own garden till I was 8 yrs old

Coelli wrote:I imagine toilet paper tubes would work for this as well? I have seen them closed on the bottom, but I wonder if you could just use them like this!

The design of the rolled carboard tube lends itself to unravelling when wet. I used to put elastic bands round half tube lengths to keep them together and planted the lot to just below the surface of the soil, For some reason ..perhaps the air drying of the top of the soil the edges of the tubes caused them to poke up out of the soil and then they became evaporative wicks which didn't help the plants much.

Triciasgarden wrote: snip When it was time to plant, I torn off the tube along the scored line. I can't remember if I tore the tube off while it was wet or dry. I am thinking that it may be easier if you wet the tube right before you are ready to plant and maybe not the soil, if you can help it. Some of the plants do come out as a glop but they are easily planted. I would not plant the tube into the garden. It would probably break down, but I think it would restrict the roots from spreading out and if any of it is above ground, it would make your roots dry out quick.

Lillyz wrote:
I kinda wanted to keep the tp roll maybe an inch above soil line to discourage cutworms. Ive had those darn things eat newly planted peppers and tomatoes and finding my poor babies cut down at soil level, well grrrrrr. Ive been out working in the flowerl beds and Ive seen them, so I know they are out there. The other thing I was trying to accomplish was getting a week or two headstart before the last spring frost. I guess I could try a few seeds in the tp roll and a few without. Thanks for your reply Tricia I appreciate it.

quiltbea wrote:lillyz......You don't need the tp collar to prevent cutworm damage. Just stick 2 toothpicks in the soil, half in and half out, right up against the stems, to prevent cutworms. They need to wrap around the stem to eat it and can't with toothpicks. Its the easiest preventive I've ever found and I've never lost a seedling to cutworm this way.